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| Buhari's government has corruption painted all over it, and his wife seem to agree/Image from the Whistler |
Buhari also dubbed as 'Mr Integrity', promised to go all out against corruption and recovering of looted funds by corrupt individuals who served in government both past and present. Whether or not Buhari's anti-corruption war has been successful is a talking point of its own. But it does seem the Buhari government is proud of its own achievements.
While we can all agree that the Buhari administration has made a lot of noise about its achievements in fight against corruption, it's also true that the Buhari government itself is enmeshed in same act of corruption it claimed to be fighting. Surely, you haven't forgotten the grass cutting scandal, Mainagate and lots of funds unaccounted for under the watchful eyes of the current anti-corruption government. In fact, critics still wonder how Buhari manages to hold on to the 'Integrity' toga when all else speaks otherwise.
Trillions of Naira averaging about N7 trillion per year has been budgeted under the Buhari-led administration since it took over in 2015. The most recent budget presented by Buhari is only a few billions shy of hitting a record N10 Trillion which will put it more than twice the last budget by Jonathan before leaving office. In other words, Buhari's budgets since taking over office are roughly twice the budgets of previous governments before him. Yet in terms of visible achievements, Nigeria continues to receive negative ratings on almost all developmental index. Surely, you still remember that Nigeria is ranked as the sixth most miserable country in the world. Well, if you care, this is part of Buhari's achievements.
It gets more interesting when an opposition party leverages on the brutal truths let bare by non other but the very wife of the President himself. And yes, I'm talking about the same woman Buhari told the world, belongs to the "kitchen and the other room."
Aisha Buhari though sides with her husband's government, is also known for being a critic of some sort, especially when she feels something is just not right. In fact, her startling revelations about certain misnomer under her husband's government can best be described as a slap to his self acclaimed "integrity". How they get to reconcile in private is left to the imagination. But that's exactly what the opposition wants.
The PDP in an official statement released on Sunday 26th, 2019, said that Aisha's recent revelation that there is humongous fraud in the N500bn Social Investment Programme and the N16bn Mosquito Net Project of the Buhari administration, has further vindicated its stance that the administration is deceitful and a pretentious citadel of corruption.
It most be noted that none of Aisha's claims about the rot in her husband's government is particularly revealing. Most of her claims has been in the know, but all who spoke out are either raided, or labeled as wailers. The fact that Aisha finally sided with Nigerians (wailers in particular), confirms that the Buhari government and the masses are living in two different worlds.
The PDP says, "Aisha Buhari’s revelation has further shown that the PDP has not been crying wolf by insisting that President Muhammadu Buhari must account for the trillions of naira stolen under his watch in the last four years."
With all these revelations raising questions about Buhari’s integrity and anti-corruption war, we are now taken back to the saying which says "Corruption cannot fight corruption. They either live together, or die together".
While there's no perfect government, Buhari would do himself a world of good by accepting reality and quit playing the integrity card. It doesn't take rocket science to deduce that the Buhari administration has failed Nigerians and that the only way to redemption is to give up power to those who are more qualified and capable of moving the nation forward.